Roasting-furnace



No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J, L. WELLS,

ROASTING P-UBN'AGE.

Nol 569,901. Patented Oct. Z0, 1896.

WW @w .4 TTOHNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES L. WELLS, OF LEADVILLE, COLORADO.

ROASTING-FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,901, dated October20, 1896.

Application i'iled November 29,1895. Serial No. 570.428. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES L. WELLS, of Leadville, in the county of Lakeand State of Colorado, have invented a new and ImprovedRoasting-Furnace, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved roastingfurnace arranged to utilize the available heat from the burning ore andto insure a complete roasting at a comparatively low expense.

The invention consists principally of a shaft provided with zigzag fluesthrough which falls the ore to be roasted, and a hotair chamberconnected with the lower ends of the tlues to cause hot air to passupward through the downwardly-moving ore.

The invention further consists of a hearth adapted to receive the ore,an air-chamber divided from said hearth by aperforated bedplate, and afume-chamber separated from said hearth by a perforated top plate.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details andcombinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter, andthen pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding` parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a sectional side elevation of the improvement on the line 1l of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of part of the same on theline 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the improvement onthe line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of part of theimprovement on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of theair supply on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a transverse section ofthe hearth and adjacent parts on the line 6 6 in Figs. 1 and 4, and Fig.7 is a transverse section of the fume or dust chamber on the line 7 7 ofFig. 1.

The improved ore-roasting furnace is provided vvith an inclined hearthA, provided at its lower end with a discharge-hopper B, having a valveB'- for opening said hopper at its bottom from time to time to dischargethe roasted ore. The upper end of the inclined hearth A opens into ashaft C, provided with a series of longitudinally-extending hollowpartition-walls, D, arranged to form a series of zigzag flues E,terminating a suitable distance below the top of the shaft O, as isplainly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3.

The top of the shaft C is provided with inlet-openings F, through whichthe ore in a finely-divided state is discharged into the upper end ofthe shaft to cause the said ore to fall downward into the zigzag flues Eto the lower end of the shaft and upon the inclined hearth A, sothat-the latter as well as the hopper B are completely filled with theore, which latter extends into the lower end of the shaft O, but belowthe partition-walls D. The latter are formed at their exterior surfaceswith V-shaped projections to produce the zigzag viiues and cause thefalling ore to turn over in its descent, and permit the hot air movingupward in the shaft, as hereinafter more fully described, to come incontact with all the particles of the downwardlymoving ore. The upperends of the partitionwalls are peak-shaped, to insure a ready passage ofthe ore into the ilues.

The bed-plate A' of the hearth A is perforated, as plainly shown in thedrawings, and this bed-plate separates the hearth at its under side froman air-chamber G, separated by a solid plate G' from acombustion-chamber i H, parallel to the inclined hearth and theairchamber G. The lower end of the combustion-chamber AH is providedwith a suitable fire-box H. Air for the air-chamber G, thecombustion-chamber H, and the fire-box H is supplied through anair-supply pipe I, connected with a suitable fan or blower, and havingbranch pipes I', I2, and I3 leading through the hopper B into the saidair-chamber G, combustion-chamber H, and fire-box H', respectively, atthe lower ends thereof, as Shown in Fig. 1.

The top of the hearth A is separated from the fume-chamber J by aperforated top plate A2, so that the air from the air-chamber G andheated from the combustion-chamber H passes through the ore filling thehearth A, and passes through said perforated plate A:l into thefume-chamber J to remove the last trace of sulfur or like mattercontained in the ore in the hearth A. The upper end of this fume-chamberJ opens at J into the zigzag flues E a short distance above the lowerIOO ends of the partitiomwalls D, so that the fumes ascend in saidfines, together with hot opposite side from that of the fines J. (SeeFig. l.) Part of the air in the air-chamber G, rising and passingthrough the ore in the i upper part of the hearth and the lower part ofthe shaft (l, passes into the fines to rise therein, so that the fumesas well as the hot air passing up in the shaft are mixed and heat thedownwardly-moving ore, so that a preliminary roastin of the latter takesplace before the ore reaches the hearth, in which it receives a finalroasting in the manner above described.

The mixture of fumes, air, and gases passes at the upper end of theshaft C over the bridgewall C into a suitable chamber L, having aninclined bottom L', leading to inclined passages L?, passing through thebridge-wall C back into the shaft C, near t-he lower end thereof, sothat the particles carried up by the fumes and air and settling on thebottom Li slide down the same and through the passages L2 pass back intothe shaft C and to the hearth A. The several passages L2 are controlledby a gate L3, pivoted at its upper end and arranged to permit theparticles to slide down through the passages, but to prevent theupwardly-1noving air and gases to pass into the settling-chamber L byway of said passages.

Into the settling-chamber L extends from the top a partition N, whichterminates at its lower end below the back wall N of thesettling-chamber L, said back wall terminating a suitable distance belowthe top of the fur nace, as plainly indicated in Fig. l, so that therear end of the settling-chamber L is connected with a chamber O,leadingto the smokestack l). In this chamber O are arranged a series of coilsof pipe Q, connected with a suitable air supply Q and discharging attheir forward ends Q2 into the hot-air chamber K, it being understoodthat the air in passing through the coils of pipe Q is heated by thegases passing through the chamber O to the smokestack P.

The upper end of the combustion-ehamber .ll leads to a series of fluesH2, discharging into the lower open ends of the hollow partition-wallsD, so that the smoke and gases from the burning fuel in the fire-boxll', after passing through the said combustion-chamber, pass through theflues H2 into the hollow partition-walls D, which connect at their upperclosed ends by openings G2 with a trans- \\*ersely-extending chamber C3,formed in the upper portion of the partition-walls D. The sides of thischamber C3 are provided with outlets C4, leading to the outer air at thetop of the furnace, (see Fig. 2,) and the upper ends of the outlets areadapted to be closed by suitable valves C5.

' to be opened by a gate C to an opening UT, i leading to thesettlingchamber L'. Then the gate C6 is closed and the valves C5 areopen, as shown in Figs. l and 2, then the smoke and gases rising in thehollow partition-walls D and passing into the chamber C3 can pass fromthe latter to the outer air by way of the outlets C1. lVhen the valvesC5 are closed and the gate C is open, then the smoke and gases insteadof passin to the outer air pass through the chamber C3 and openingsCinto the settling-chamber L.

Now it will be seen that by the arrangement described the outgoing gasesheat the incoming air previous to the latter passing upwardly in thezigzag fines to heat and roast the downward ly-falling ore. A finalroasting is given to the ore filling the hearth by the hot air passingthrough said ore from the hotair chamber G. By passing the smoke andgases from the combustion-chamber through the hollow partitions D, thelatter are heated to insure heating of the ore coming in contact withthe partitions while passing through the zigzag ilues.

The bottom of the chamber O is inclined, as shown in Fig. 7, and extendsthrough a side wall to the outside to permit the dust that settles inthe chamber to be conveniently scraped into a conveyer, cars, or othermeans on the outside of the furnace at the lower end of the said bottom.

The material composing the plates A and A may be iron or fire-clay,either separately or jointly used.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patentl. A roasting-furnace comprising a shaft, aninclined hearth into which discharges said sha-ft, a settling-chain berconnected with the upper end of said shaft and having an inclinedbottom, and valved passages leading from said settling-chamber into saidshaft, substantially as shown and described.

2. A roasting-furnace comprising a shaft having hollow partition-wallsforming vertical flues for the passage of the ore, a hearth connectedwith the lower end of the said shaft below said partition-walls, achamber in the upper end of the bridge-wall of the shaft and connectedwith the upper ends of the hollow walls, valved outlets leading fromsaid chamber to the outer air, a settlingchamber eonnected with theupper end of said shaft, and a valved opening leading from said chamberinto said settling-chamber, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a roasting-furnace, a housing, a shaft in the housing, a hearth, asettling-chamber in communication with the shaft, a series of fluesarranged in the shaft, and a chamber within the housing, the saidchamber being in communication with the atmosphere and with the fluesand having a valved opening int-o the settling-chamber, substantially asde- The lower end of the chamber CS-is adapted scribed.

IOO

IIO

IZO

l. A roasting-furnace, comprisinga casing having a shaft and asettling-chamber therein, the settling-chamber having a valvedpassageinto the shaft, a series of vertically-extending fines havingspaces between them and located Within the shaft, a chamber with whichthe fines have common communication, the chamber having a valved passageinto the settling-chamber and beingin communication with the atmosphere,a hearth, and a lire-box, the iire-boX being in communication With theiiues and the hearth with the shaft, substantially as described.

5. A roasting-furnace, comprising a housing having a shaft, a hearth atthe lowei` end of the shaft, a fire-box, a series of flues extendin gvertically Within the shaft and having vertical passages between them,the lues being in communication with the fire-box, and a chamber Withinthe housing, the chamber being in communication with the iues and Withthe atmosphere, substantially as described.

G. A roasting-furnace, comprising a housing, a shaft Within the housing,a fire-box, a series of vertically-extendin g flues communicating withthe iire-box and having vertical spaces between them, the iiues havingcorrugated sides, and a chamber Within the housing, the cham ber havingcom munication with the fines and with the atmosphere, substantially asdescribed.

JAMES L. WELLS. lVitn esses A. J. PLUME, E. G. H. ARNOUX.

